Mary Zimmerman again sets sail for the age of gods and monsters in the majestic “Argonautika.”

The visionary writer-director has a gift for unleashing the power of mythology to reveal secrets of existence. From the Tony-winning “Metamorphoses” to the contemplative “Journey to the West,” she has divined an incandescent theatrical alchemy wrought from poetry and tableau, the most elaborate language paired with the simplest stage picture to fire the subconscious.

Here she recounts the epic of Jason and the Argonauts to reveal the hero’s journey as a metaphor for all of us, buffeted by unbearable loss, pierced by the arrows of love gone wrong, courageously forging ahead in the face of our own mortality.

In its sublime West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep, “Argonautika” revels in not just Zimmerman’s trademark visual fantasia but also her mastery of form and motif. Embedded in the fable is the prophecy that the desire for conquest inevitably leads to destruction. The Golden Fleece emerges as an empty trophy that tempts a generation to their deaths. Zimmerman’s political statement, that war is full of pointless suffering, drives the production with a sense of urgency that contrasts with her usual meditative aesthetic.

If Zimmerman indulges in some forced comic relief, the tragedy of the piece still shakes us to the core. Jason’s encounters with love and loss charge each stunning tableau with an emotional force approaching catharsis. A co-production with Princeton’s McCarter Theatre, Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company and Zimmerman’s own Chicago-based Lookingglass company, “Argonautika” fuses the elegance of a ritual with the full-throttle thrill of adventure. She sets the heart pounding and the imagination ablaze for the drama’s nearly three-hour duration.

The director takes time to etch each leg of the legendary expedition meticulously. From the bullying and braying of Hercules (Soren Oliver) to the pathetic attempts of Medea (Atley Loughridge) to remove Cupid’s arrow from her breast, each moment feels as fully realized as it is highly stylized. The performances ground the loftiness of the fable in flesh, blood and raw emotion.

This is a ballet of details, danced to perfection. Billows of green silk morph into a sea monster. Puppet strings tug a baby’s limbs to life. Strips of scarlet satin are transformed from hair ribbons to rivulets of blood. The images flow seamlessly from one stage picture to another, as Jason (Jake Suffian) rides the ocean’s waves to his destiny.

The saga is played out on Daniel Ostling’s interpretation of the ship’s hold, a sleek expanse of wood and rigging that subtly changes as Jason does battle with every deadly creature the gods can muster, from centaurs and dragons to his own unslakable lust for power.

During his travels, we register the toll of his exploits on the crew. Hercules must part from his beloved chum Hylas (Justin Blanchard). The women of Lemnos sing a lamentation for the dead. Jason himself locks eyes with Medea and seals both their fates. Not even the guidance of the goddesses Athena (Sofia Jean Gomez) and Hera (Christa Scott-Reed), the queen of heaven, can protect these mortals from the pain and suffering that is their lot.

Medea may be the most piteous of all. She wears a spotless white dress when she first sets eyes on Jason, but she is soon pierced by the pangs of eros, and blood soaks through the cloth until she is drenched in red. If their destructive love affair feels a little frantic here, Zimmerman’s penultimate image perfectly suggests the inescapable nature of the human animal, staring up at the stars, longing for the future, but constrained by the past.

‘Argonautika’

Written and directed by Mary Zimmerman

Mercury News

The upshot: The visionary director once again sets sail for the age of gods and monsters and channels the power of myth to touch us where we live today.

Karen D’Souza is a writer for the Bay Area News Group papers, covering healthy living, Bay Area culture and other lifestyle topics. She is a four-time Pulitzer juror, a former USC/Getty Arts Journalism Fellow and a longtime member of the Glickman Drama Jury and the American Theatre Critics Association. She has a Master's Degree in Journalism from UC Berkeley.

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